VeniceIndianFan

Best two teams I saw in the state last year were CMD and Jesuit. It’s scary to think that CMD could be even better this season as most of their team were juniors last season. STA and Venice were right behind them but I think CMD was overall the best team in the state. TCA will likely be their only competition

This years Lakeland team would be capable of beating SFA, they should reach out and try to schedule them with the 8 weeks or so we have before kickoff here.

No. The 2019 Venice team was likely the worst Venice team in the past decade. They were completely blown away by IMG in the season opener after having all momentum on their side, lost to Riverview in a game they never led, were squished by SFA, and lost by 17 points to a sub-par manatee team. They lost to STA in the state semi’s and did not score a single point. Comparatively, SFA likely had their best team in their short school history in 2019; They were a few stone throws away from a national championship at number 3 overall, but STA won it that year. The 2022 Venice squad will be much better than what the 2019 team put out. Surprisingly, Venice is actually pretty set at receiver: Ryan Matulevich and Fin Jones transfers, as well as the return of Kiki Hyppolite, Jayvon Platt, Keon Sears, and Jamarice Wilder all give them a chance to compete with whomever they play. Big question is clearly the offensive line, as 4 of the 5 linemen are new and need some snaps under their belt. Our returning defense is going to be very strong. Trenton Kintigh, Elliot Washington, Sage Youtzy, Damon Wilson, and Shamarion Wilson, all return. Shamarion was only a freshman last year but got good snaps in garbage time. Cameron Herring transferred from Cardinal Mooney and is going to be a great LB on the outside. Also add in the fact that since Venice has a week 3 bye, they have an extra week to watch film and prepare for this opponent. The coaching staff will use this time wisely and guide this team in the right direction. We want to be the best, so we have to play the best. Give it your all, RIGHT!? Here’s hoping for a Venice victory on 9-15-22!!

And if Venice manages to defeat SFA what will you say then? SFA had a bad day? There were laxatives in the hotel soup? They didn’t get enough sleep? They forgot the Gatorade on the plane? Lmao

Unfortunately, some people don’t want to believe the truth; they just want their lies dressed up nicely so they are easier to believe. You can’t get through to their mind to reason with them, it’s a losing battle. Like trying to open a bank vault with a screwdriver. Lol

You don’t think Venice having 2 weeks to prepare for them will change anything?

My bad, thought it was the other way around. Dillard can most def win all 3 but it won’t be easy, best of luck to them

Hey @Jesse maybe instead of putting that little guy with his eyebrow raised on all of my posts, you could say something about this matchup?

That’s the thing about those 305 squads; their speed is unmatched. You can game-plan for it, but you really only see that kind of speed down south and on teams like IMG, SFA, Mater Dei, etc etc. If Dillard can limit their mistakes and capitalize on Central’s, they can beat them without a doubt. The good news for Dillard is that they are playing at home and will have the crowd noise on their side. Their o-line has continuity together and will figure to be their best squad in years. I think 3 of your 5 starters are 2+ year starters and over 6 foot 2; a great starting point already to diminish MC’s ferocious pass rush.

Sarasota High had a decent season last year, and only missed the playoffs by a couple of losses: Venice, Riverview, and Braden River. The strong core of their players returns and they have stepped up their comp this year, scheduling Manatee, Palmetto, and Southeast along with their district opponents. My boldest prediction for this season is that Sarasota wins at least one of the 4 games that they lost in 2021 between Venice, Riverview, Southeast, and Braden River, and makes the playoffs for the first time in years. North Port High is going independent this year in an attempt to push the reset button on their program. They have never made the playoffs in school history and have never even had a winning season. It appears that they have been bold and scheduled IMG National in Week 4; perhaps an all-out attempt to show their players what top-flight competition looks like. All the best to the Bobcats as they move forward. Riverview has brought back a good class and will once again challenge Venice for the district title. They get Venice at the Ram Bowl this season; could this be the year Riverview FINALLY defeats Venice and wins the district crown? Maybe. But Sarasota will not go down easily either.

Offense is mostly new with the entire offensive line graduating, most of the receiving corps, and the QB. But we still have Rkish Hyppolite, who got some snaps as a backup last year and Keon Sears, who is a really good receiver and a 2 year starter. We picked up wide receiver Ryan Matulevich and tight end Fin Jones, both from Cardinal Mooney, both of whom should fit right in to contribute. Running back Jamarice Wilder is only a sophomore but already shared snaps with Damarion last season and is proven to be a very strong RB. Our returning defense is going to be very strong. Damon Wilson is one of the best defensive ends in the country; he benches over 500 lbs and cleaned something like 345 and is only going to get stronger. Trenton Kintigh on the inside is going to be very strong as he started last year and was a very powerful force. Shamaron Wilson is going to be stepping into the second DE role opposite of Damon; he is only a sophomore but got some snaps in garbage time as a freshman last year and looked decent. I don’t know who will be beside Trenton, but I'm sure the coaching staff will groom a new nose tackle. Elliot Washington and Sage Yootzy both return for their senior year. Sage is going to be great at Safety and Elliot is going to bolster the backfield tremendously. He has taken snaps at linebacker, full safety, corner, and even DE and can do it all. Cameron Herring, transfer from Cardinal Mooney, should be a strong linebacker as well and has proven he can tackle and pursue very well. The defense is going to be the rock of this team for a little while. The offense is new and is going to take some time to adjust. I think it will be enough to beat Northwestern and Naples; damn the preseason game, lol. The good news for Venice is that they have 13 days to prepare for SFA and they will be at home. Will it translate to a victory? I don’t know. Only time will tell, but I think Venice can just RIP the W away from SFA, if they want it badly enough and play as well as they can. Go Indians!

Thanks bro it’s gonna be a lot of fun! Dillard should be a top team in the state this year, can’t wait to see them play Central! I know the Panthers haven’t forgotten 2019,

Thank you! I think this game is going to be a hard fought defensive battle. SFA had a young team last year and returns 3 of the 4 on their defensive line. Their nose tackle, Gabe Williams, is *the* best I have seen in the country so far. He had at least 8 Pressures against IMG last season and 2 sacks. He had similar numbers in their game against STA. Unbelievable how strong he is, and has only gotten bigger. The core of continuity they have from last year returns and they will be a very strong team once again. Venice has 2 major factors going for them in this game that could push them over the edge to a victory over SFA: Home Field Advantage They have a week 3 bye. Since the coaching staff couldn’t get Mater Dei to play, they left it open as a bye week. This gives them 2 weeks to prepare for St. Frances and hopefully some rest for the players as well. Can’t understate that 2 weeks to prepare for an opponent of this magnitude will help immensely. Will it translate to a victory? I certainly hope so, but only Time will tell. I don’t see it being a blowout like 2019 was because I believe this Venice squad will be much better than what they had in 2019. The seniors on this team remember what SFA did to them and they have been waiting three years for this rematch. Their might be some rough emotions that were not present in the 2019 matchup. Couple that in with the fact that this matchup is on ESPN, and you have a game that will likely see fans spilling out from the stands, onto the track and into the parking lot. SFA fans packed our away stands last time and I expect them to do so again. All I know is this; when SFA comes calling on September 15th, I, along with a litany of other Venice fans, will be there decked out in green gear to cheer the Indians on to a W over the Panthers! Go Indians!

The highly anticipated week 4 game between Venice and the number 1 team in the nation, St. Frances Academy, will be televised on ESPN at 8 pm for what should be one of the best games of the year. I will be at that game covered from head to toe in green gear, rooting the Indians on to a W against the Panthers! Rise up, Indian nation! What are everyone’s thoughts on this? Would love to hear them!!

Agree with you, It was me that favored Dillard to win. Analytics and matchups player-for-player will favor STA. What Dillard does well is playing together as a team. Do some more with a little less. They have talent and a good team returning on top of their transfers. Will this be good enough to defeat the Raiders? I certainly hope so, but even though the Panthers are at home it’s still going to take an enormous effort from the entire team to knock off STA for the district title and possibly the right to HFA. The last place you want to go is Brian Piccolo Stadium.

I told you Dillard Fan, you ALWAYS respect a playoff team. No matter who they are. Records go out the window in playoff games. It doesn’t matter if they are 0-10, 1-9, 6-4, or hold a perfect record. You should never overlook the opponent in front of you if you want to win and make it to a state championship. I don’t care if you have to play Boyd Andersen and then Mater Dei; you always keep your eyes in front of you. Football is a game of inches, man. A game of inches.

All correct points that are easy to verify. Also, I will add that you should always respect a playoff opponent, no matter who they are or where you are playing. It’s not like baseball where you can just kind of shrug off a loss and say, “well, we just had a bad night.” One “bad night” in football in the playoffs could mean a loss and an end to state championship dreams.

I will never sleep on Dade... those kids are tough as nails.

I didn’t mean to respond to your post twice. But yes, Homestead is in the same classification as Dillard once again. Tell me again, because my memory isn’t working very well. How is revenge best served?

Yup.

STA, Dillard, and Homestead all appear to be the frontrunners at this point. If STA loses their district to Dillard, the Panthers would almost certainly have HFA thru the playoffs; basically handing them a ticket to the state championship. Don’t know if there is anyone in the 3A metro playoffs that will be able to knock off Dillard other than STA. It might be cliche to say, but I really think this is the year of the Panthers. They might be fielding their best team in collective school history and on top of this, STA is going to have a fairly young offense this season; therefore, (on paper,) I think Dillard should be favored to take home the 3A crown.

This is why the Metro vs. Suburban split was so important. Of course the “criminals” so to speak, in this case, scream and kick and whine and cry when they get broken up because they can’t beat up on smaller schools with much smaller populations to draw from anymore. The good news with this split is that although it isn’t perfect, it at least acknowledges that there is competitive inequality between school sizes and how their football team operates in relation to them. No more schools struggling to field a football team having to play the Miami and Broward bloodhounds that will score 56 before they can even blink. The only bad thing about how the split was conducted is that 1A rural is still almost the same thing as what 1A was in the old system, with only few variations. Madison County will still steamroll thru it every year unless they are placed in 2A, where they actually belong. But I am very glad that Aquinas was placed in 3A metro. They should (in theory,) have more competition now that there are more schools at least as big and competitive as them stepping up to knock them down. Hope the new system is as effective as it sounds on paper.

You are correct; the Miami publics are the true culprits. When everyone is guilty of the same crime (private and public,) you don’t single one out and punish just them, you change the system so it works for everyone. Metro vs Suburban will hopefully satisfy the competitive imbalance.

Attraction is fine and perfectly legal, as there is no real way to stop a kid from wanting to go to a certain school. But coaches openly recruiting like this is absolutely disgraceful.